What goes in a work at height rescue kit
A rescue kit is the equipment that lets a trained person reach and lower a suspended worker without waiting for emergency services. At minimum that means a descent device rated for two person load, enough rope for the working height, a means of attaching to an anchor, and a way of taking the casualty's weight off their harness. Most pre rigged kits bundle those parts into one bag so nothing has to be assembled under pressure.
The kit you need depends on how the casualty will be reached. A remote rescue kit such as the SpanSet Gotcha reaches a worker from ground level without the rescuer climbing. A pulley and haul system lifts a casualty who is trapped below the anchor. A self evacuation device gets a worker down under their own control. Suspension trauma straps buy time in every one of those scenarios and cost under $60.
Choosing a rescue kit for your site
Tower and pole work needs reach and rope length. Kits like the Skylotec Tower Rescue Kit come in 50m, 100m and 150m options, and the rope length is the working height limit, not the marketing figure. Check the maximum lowering distance the manufacturer publishes for the kit rather than the rope length on the label.
Confined space work needs a different shape of kit. Entry and retrieval usually means a tripod or davit, a retrieval winch and a rescue pulley system rather than a descent kit, because the casualty is being raised rather than lowered.
EWP and elevated platform work needs a compact evacuation kit that lives in the basket. Skylotec's EWP Evac kits and the Milan descent range are built for that.
Roof and edge work is usually served by a general purpose rescue and descent kit plus a haul system, because the rescue could go either way.
If you are unsure which applies, call us with the working height, the anchor position and how many people will be on site trained to use the kit. Those three answers decide it.
Pulley and haul systems
Mechanical advantage systems let one rescuer lift a casualty who cannot be lowered. Ratios run from 2:1 for a light assisted lift to 5:1 for a full dead weight raise, and the higher the ratio the more rope travel each metre of lift costs.
Height Safety Central stocks pre built haul kits from Skylotec, ISC, CMC and KStrong, along with the individual pulleys, prusik minding pulleys, swivels and knot passing pulleys to build a system to your own specification. The ISC RALF and R-ALF two way auto locking pulleys and the CMC MPD are the workhorses of most Australian rope rescue teams.
Descent and self evacuation devices
A descent device controls the rate a person comes down. Automatic devices such as the Skylotec DEUS ONE manage the descent without the user doing anything, which matters when the casualty is unconscious or the rescuer is untrained. Manual devices such as the ISC D4 and D5 give a trained operator full control and are the choice for rope access and technical rescue.
Rope length is a specification, not an accessory. Order the device with the drop it has to cover, and add a rope bag so the line is protected and deployable.
Rescue kits and your rescue plan
Australian workplace health and safety duties require a rescue plan before anyone is put at risk of a fall, and a plan that depends on calling emergency services is not a plan. Suspension trauma can become life threatening in well under thirty minutes, which is shorter than most Australian emergency response times to an industrial site.
A workable plan names the rescue method, the equipment that method needs, where that equipment is kept, and who on site is trained to use it. The equipment listed on this page is what turns a written plan into a usable one.
